My Swan
by izzy95
Summary: The choreographer Joanne is looking for the perfect ballerina to play the Swan Queen in her new version of Swan Lake. AU story. MoJo eventually. Please R&R!
1. Finding the Girl

**A/N: So this my new story. It's MoJo and it's AU. In this version everything at a ballet company where Joanne is the new choreographer, and Maureen is a ballerina. More characters may come in play later on. Thanks to the lovely tazlvr2001 for beta-reading this! Please R&R, would love to hear what you think of this! Enjoy :)**

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><p>Joanne Jefferson looked out of the window at her studio. It was snowing outside. Joanne just started as a choreographer at the ballet company, so she was very nervous. Even thought it wasn't a very big company, it was a successful one, so she had to be at her best.<p>

This was the first class she was going to have. Well, it wasn't _her_ class; she was just sitting in on it, watching the dancers go around. Joanne was going to perform a version of the classic ballet piece named Swan Lake. It's a tale about this beautiful young woman, Odette, who has fallen under the spell of a powerful sorcerer, enchanting her into a beautiful swan by day and only human by night. But when she meets a lovely prince, looking for a wife to marry before his birthday, they fall hopelessly in love with each other. The prince invites her to a ball, to announce his true love for her, and break her spell, but when the evil sorcerer finds out he decides to arrive with his own daughter, Odil, disguised as Odette. So the prince mistakes her for being Odette and declares is love for her to the whole world, so that Odette must remain a swan forever. Upon seeing this and realizing that she will never have the chance to be a human again, Odette throws herself into the lake and thereby commits suicide.

It wasn't very hard to find the dancers for the role as the prince and the sorcerer, but she couldn't seem to find the perfect girl for the role as Odette, the swan queen. So she decided she was going to have to look around in the studios a bit more, before making a decision.

She already knew the obvious choice for Odette, the white swan. Her name was Nina. She had the best technique and danced with almost perfection, always working hard to prove her worth, but she lacked the grace and the let-loose attitude Joanne wanted. She was too tight up. You see, she was perfect for the role as the white swan, but the girl playing Odette, must also play Odil, the evil, black swan and daughter of the sorcerer. She had to play seductive, letting go and enchanting the prince with her free charm and grace. Joanne knew that Nina wouldn't be able to do that. Plus, Nina was also leaving soon for a better company, so it didn't really matter.

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><p>But after a day or two, Joanne got hold of someone who seemed interesting. She usually stood in the back of the room, so Joanne had never really seen her before, but now, she was completely enchanted by her. She had long brown curls framing her pale beautiful face and brown eyes that seemed to light up every time she danced. She was tall and fit. Light toned, stunning, beautiful and breathtaking in every single way. She was about the same age as Joanne herself. And her dance, her dance! She danced with so much power and energy. She floated over the floor dancing with more grace and beauty that Joanne had ever seen. She was extremely seductive, dangerously seductive. It might be that she didn't have the technique and perfection, but she had a power to make it look so simple, but she lacked the technique and her dance was too seductive and impure for her to play the white swan. She could only play Odil.<p>

But after that, Joanne decided to take a closer look at the girl. She wasn't like the others. There was something special about her. She didn't seem like the quiet girl next door - too shy to ever have kissed a boy, dreaming of true love, marriage and as many children as possible. In fact, the woman was a real diva - a playgirl, no doubt of that and as lesbian as Joanne herself. Joanne quickly came to know that she was dating one of the other dancers. As far as Joanne remembered her name was Lila or Mila or something like that. The two of them seemed to be making out every time possible, but as soon as Lila or whatever-her-name-is had left the room, the girl quickly starting to flirt with every other living and breathing girl near her.

Joanne thought about it for awhile, until she decided that she had to get to know _who_ this girl was. So one day when she was closing down, she locked herself into the archive, and looked through the files, until she found the right girl.

It took awhile, but finally, she found her.

Her name was Maureen Johnson. She was 23 years old. The picture that was taken of her was just as beautiful as when Joanne looked at her. True enough, her girlfriends name was Lila. Lila Martins. Cold blonde hair and pale as a sin.

Joanne didn't quite know where to go from there. She still needed a swan queen and after more time of thinking, she knew exactly which girl she wanted, and she knew that she was the only one for the role. Maureen Johnson.

It didn't take long before the last roles were filled, and the list finally hung on the wall, getting more than enough attention.

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><p>Maureen Johnson was stretching out after their class. She took her towel, gently wiping the sweat away from her face and neck. Maureen couldn't help but to notice a mocha skinned woman sitting on a chair in the back of the room. She wouldn't quite admit it to herself but she was absolutely stunning. Maureen had seen her around the last couple of weeks, and thought she remembered her being introduced as the new choreographer, she was almost sure of that. She had big brown eyes like chocolate and ringlet hair falling down and framing her beautiful face. And the girl had a body!<p>

Maureen was quickly pulled out of her thoughts before the eyes came to wander on the teacher, by her blonde girlfriend, suddenly standing behind her.

"Come on, Mo! The role list for the next performance piece just got up! We have to see which roles we got!"

Maureen looked up at the squirming blonde. She could see how excided she was.

"Only if you kiss me," Maureen teased, as Lila helped her up from the floor.

"You got yourself a deal," Lila smirked, but before she could even get to move, Maureen had already crashed her lips against the blonde, her tongue demanding access to the whole mouth. A light moan escaped her lips as Lila willingly opened her mouth granting Maureen the access she wanted. As the two of them where locked together, Maureen couldn't help but to look over at the woman on the chair. She looked amazed at the two of them, blushing like crazy when Maureen caught her eye, smiling at her, before leaning in and closing her eyes, only to pull back soon after, in need for air and more privacy if they were to continue, but now wasn't the time for that, both of them knew it.

"Oh, Maureen, how I wish I could get the role as the swan queen!" Lila said dreamily. Maureen moved forwards, giggling while placing a small kiss on the edge of her mouth.

"Honestly, I don't really care what role I get. I know I'm not as good as the others, and it's not like my parents are coming to watch me or anything." The brunette smirked, before slipping her arms around her girl's waist, pulling them towards the list.

Soon enough they got through the big crowd looking at the list, filled with names. Maureen kept searching at the bottom, looking for her name without success.

_Great,_ she thought to herself. _Another show I don't get to be a part of._

But that was when Lila started freaking out, pulling and jumping with a very confused Maureen.

"Oh, Mo! Congratulations! Wow! I can't get that you actually got the role!" She almost crashed Maureen's ribs as she hugged her so tightly, the diva couldn't get any air down her lungs.

When Lila felt Maureen pushing back, she saw that the confused girl actually hadn't even seen it yet!

"Oh, Maureen! Look! It's your name!" Lila pulled the brunette closer, pushing her once more through the crowd as she rapidly pointed on the name at the top. Maureen looked in awe as she saw her own name written beside the role as the swan queen herself. Maureen was almost in shock! She had never expected anything like that to happen to her! That's when she heard claps coming from behind her. Smoothly she turned around to see the teacher from the chair looking at her with a cold smile and clapping her congratulations.

"But… I- I don't understand?" Maureen smiled, still as confused as before.

"It's very simple. Congratulations. You got the wanted role as my only swan queen. I'm Joanne Jefferson, the choreographer on this piece. You and me are going to work very hard together to make you shine on that stage," Joanne smiled at her.

"I… I don't understand. Surely there must be some sort of mistake, right?" Maureen asked.

"You don't want the role?" Joanne asked. "Cause-"

Maureen interrupted her. "No! No, no, it's not like that at all. I'm just… not use to being chosen other than playing in the background."

"Well, then see this as your lucky day."

Joanne gave her a witty smile, before leaving the room again.


	2. Dating Problems

**A/N: So, this is chapter 2 of my story... Just to answer a question, this isn't based on the movie 'Black Swan', it's only inspired by it. Well, hope you like it! Thanks to tazlvr2001 for beta-reading this! Please R&R! :)**

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><p>Joanne stirred when she heard knocking on her office door. "Come in," she yelled, not wanting to get up from her seat.<p>

Soon after Maureen's slightly shy face showed through the door. "Do you have time?" she asked.

Joanne smiled to herself, "Of course. Come in and take a set Maureen." Joanne got up pointing at the chair on the other side of her desk. She waited until Maureen entered, closing the door behind her and sat carefully on the placed chair, before sitting down again herself.

"So…" Joanne said after Maureen had kept looking at her, unsure at what to do.

"Oh!" Maureen said blushing slightly, quickly pulling it off again, "Yeah." She crossed her legs and looked at the stuff on the desk. "So… I just wanted to say that I'm glad that you chose me to play the role. I'm sorry about before. It's usually not me. I'm just not used to being picked as the principal ballerina. Not that I mind." Now it just sounded like she was rambling, trying to play cool, not really caring about anything. Joanne could easily see it was just a mask, but decided not to say anything. "Ya' know how it is, trying to come out and everything…." Maureen suddenly seemed to get cold, not having anything to say at all. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm looking forward to get the chance to work with you. I know I don't have the skills and technique, but I wanted to let you know that I'm willing to work hard to make everything work… Yup…"

After some time Joanne didn't quite know what to do or whether or not Maureen was finished talking.

"That's kinda it. Just wanted to get everything straight ya know." After a second of eying Joanne, Maureen suddenly lent forwards, resting her elbows on the desk, leaning herself closer to the mocha woman in a very flirtatious way and whispered, "But if there is anything else you want to talk about…"

Joanne felt a shiver run down her spine, not being able to think or talk. "N-no. I got nothing on my mind." She finally managed.

Maureen leant back again, crossing her arms with a smirk plastered on her light face.

"But I need to remind you that we still have to work hard, we have a long way to go and I'm still not completely sure that you're ready for this." Joanne crossed her own arms with a smirk.

"But Miss-"

Before Maureen could even begin to protest her, Joanne had already leant forward and placed her index finger on Maureen's sweet and soft lips to silence her.

"Hear me out will you? All I'm saying is that we have a lot of work before us. But I'll tell you this, Maureen: I don't regret in any way at all, picking you as my principal. Remember that the next time. Otherwise you wouldn't be sitting in this very room right now."

After that, Joanne got up from her seat. She moved past a slightly flustered Maureen, going to the door and holding it for Maureen to exit. "I'll see you tomorrow then," Joanne slightly smiled, as Maureen went through the door, Joanne closing it after her.

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><p>Joanne had been working late as usual; wanting to make sure everything was alright before she left. She went through the halls, locking up and making sure the lights were off. That was when she heard something from one of the smaller rooms. Joanne, being curious as she was, quickly walked closer to the sound. It sounded like… like someone was having some sort of fight? Quickly she realized that she knew one of the voices. Joanne was almost sure it belonged to Maureen. She could recognize that voice anywhere, soft with an edge to it, floating like almost melodically.<p>

"What do mean flirting? When was the LAST time _**I**_ FLIRTED with ANYONE?" she shouted.

"YESTERDAY you flirted with someone! And don't forget how YOU'VE been looking and talking to that new GIRL all day!" the other shouted.

"Oh, come on, Pookie! You know I don't want to be with any other than you! Please! Stop trying to change me all the time!"

"CHANGE you? HA! That's funny Maureen! Even an ANGEL couldn't get you to STOP HITTING ON EVERYTHING LIVING AT ALL!"

When Joanne got close, she looked through the crack between the door and the wall. It was Maureen. She was fighting with Lila. Joanne wasn't sure, but it also looked like there was this black guy standing in the background, not participating in the argument.

Joanne stirred when she heard a smack. Maureen had hit Lila for her comment about hitting on everybody.

"Feel better?" Lila asked, anger rising in her voice. Before Joanne could even blink, Lila had slammed Maureen on the cheek, the brunette almost falling back. This time, the man in the background quickly came forward, seeing Lila wasn't done yet. He quickly got behind her and seized her arms, holding her back.

Maureen rose again, looking into Lila's eyes, tears threatening to fall down.

"Lila. I'm so sorry… Tell me what you want, anything. Please. All you need to do is ask. I'll do anything!" Maureen came closer, her voice almost shaking as it got louder in the end.

"I don't want anything! Not ever again!" Lila shouted. It was almost like something snapped inside Maureen at that. Tears disappeared to be replaced by what, according to Joanne, almost looked like pure hatred.

"THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE!" she shouted with all her might, coming as close to the blonde as possible. "HAH? WHY DON'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE?"

"Lila, please," the guy said, holding her tighter as her anger rose. Maureen quickly spotted him. He was not getting anywhere! Oh no, she wasn't finished just yet!

"AND WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN DOING HERE? I DON'T KNOW YOU!"

Maureen slowly backed away, trying to control her anger. Looking away, she placed her hands on her face and let the tears fall down.

"Oh Pookie, please! Wouldn't you please tell me what's going on? Please? No more lies. I don't want to be mad at you! I'm so sorry. Please."

"I'm sorry Maureen. I can't do this anymore." Tears started to stream down again at Lila's cold words. "This is Benjamin. He's my new boyfriend."

Maureen turned, piercing her eyes through Lila's very soul.

"Please say this is not happening. Please don't let this be true. You know how much I care for you! You know how much I like you and want to be with only you!" her voice was shaky but steady.

"I'm so sorry Maureen…"

That was the last thing Lila said, before she and Benjamin disappeared again.

Joanne stood and watched as Maureen slowly slid down against the wall, hands on her knees, pushing her hair away from her face. She was sobbing. Slowly, Joanne pushed the door more open, but seeing Maureen's ice cold eyes pierce right through her, she suddenly didn't know what to say.

"What do_ you_ want?" Maureen asked angrily, not bothering about the tears gliding down from her eyes. Joanne opened her mouth to talk, but nothing seemed to come out. What the hell should she do?

"Nothing…" she quietly said after a minute. "Just remember to lock up after yourself," Joanne said, before disappearing again, leaving Maureen alone with her thoughts and her tears.


	3. Nightmares

**A/N: I'm really sorry it took so long for me to update but with the summer holiday and everything, I kinda didn't have the time :S Sorry! Thanks to tazlvr2001 for beta-reading this :)**

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><p>That night Joanne had a strange dream. She was at the ballet theater, standing in the middle of the stage. The big spot light was on her, shinning so bright she could only see darkness beyond. Suddenly, her body was moving with so much speed, she could hardly keep up. It was like she was a marionette being pulled by strings. Suddenly, she was sitting on one of the chairs facing the stage, looking up at the still sharp light. A piano started playing so fast, Joanne couldn't hear the individual notes played, then quickly closed curtains where pulled open, to reveal the stage. Ballerinas quickly entered, dancing fast easily able to keep up with the tempo of the piano. The scene was made to be a small village in the background. Pins were flowing up everywhere, attached to bushes and trees. A sun set out in the background on a light blue painted sky.<p>

It looked like it was supposed to be a happy scene, but it was so strange. The tempo was too fast, the music too loud, the village too happy. And the ballerinas…they were all wearing masks, covering their real faces behind exaggerated smiles.

Suddenly this new magnificent captivating and beautiful slim female figure danced her way onto the middle of the stage. She danced with such grace and elegance, Joanne had never seen anything like it. Her tempo matched perfectly with the others, faster and faster, spinning out of control. The new girl suddenly briefly moved her head close so Joanne could see it. It was Maureen. But there was something different about her. She wasn't the normal always overly happy playgirl. Even though she danced as beautiful as always, it wasn't her. She was just as hollow and empty as all of the other dancers on the stage. No emotions whatsoever. She was just one big mask. Her eyes were completely black, the black dripping down from her eyes and forming dark stains down her cheek that looked somewhat like smeared mascara.

Soon a new figure entered the scene. Another girl. Her dance was not as impressive as Maureen's, but she kept up the tempo. The two girls quickly started dancing together like there was no tomorrow. The girls' dance got slower and more complicated, as the background music and dancers seemed to run amok! They stopped on the scene and started kissing passionately. But as the music got louder, the dance went faster; a new figure entered the scene. This time it was a male figure. Black and bald. High and handsome. A good dancer. He ripped the girl away from Maureen, lifting her high up in the air. The girl spread her arms and made motion to fly as a bird, her arms being her wings, and suddenly she drifted away flying high up into the sky, while the man stayed down trying to dance with Maureen instead. She ran along for a while. It was like watching a chase. The man tried and tried, but Maureen kept getting away, leaving him with a cold high seductive laughter.

Instead, Maureen suddenly danced out off the stage and danced practically right into Joanne's arms, offering Joanne her hand to take. And she did.

Maureen pulled her out swirling her around. She danced and danced around her on the stage, until she finally came closer to Joanne, pressing her lips harshly against her. Joanne felt her own lips burning from the kiss. It was like some sort of death kiss. It felt like poison entering Joanne's mouth, when Maureen tried to deepen the kiss. Joanne was stunned by the passion but all the same frightened by it.

Maureen finally pulled her poison lips away, swirling even faster around Joanne than before, but when Joanne finally got the chance to look around her, she realized that she was no longer on the creepy light scene. Instead, she was standing in the middle of the water, darkness surrounding her. Out on the far shore she saw the light from a lighthouse on the shore. It was ringing loud and clear.

The waves were hard and rough, enough to drown even the best swimmer. Joanne feared for her life, clinging tightly onto Maureen, who simply kept dancing and laughing in that cold low way, making Joanne even more frightened.

But Maureen kept dancing farther and farther away from Joanne, making it harder for the mocha girl to hold on. And it surely didn't look like this Maureen was going to do anything about it.

A ship suddenly came from behind Maureen, stirring towards them. The lights were bright, blinding Joanne so she couldn't see Maureen anymore.

Finally, she felt herself falling into to water, dropping with a splash. When she got the chance to look up again, she saw Maureen gripping onto the front of the ship, extending a hand to Joanne. She was laughing, but her eyes weren't shinning. They were completely black as before.

Joanne desperately tried to will herself forward, but the water wouldn't let her. She tried to grab Maureen's hand, but she was too far away. Joanne fought and fought, finally managing to grip onto the brunette's hand.

But that's when she saw it.

Inside Maureen's chest, the place where her heart was suppose to be pounding; it was empty. Just one big black hole carved inside of her, streaming out with her same black liquid filling her eyes.

In shock, Joanne quickly let go of the hand, immediately regretting it as she was now sinking deeper and deeper into the water. Joanne fought, but looking down, she saw a big rusty chain gripping one of her ankles, forcing it deeper down.

Joanne took her last breath as her head disappeared under the ocean.

She tried to twist her ankle, but it didn't help her. Her blood was now streaming out from her foot, the chain making impact with her bone as she kept twisting and turning. She tried desperately to scream out in pain and horror, but that just resulted in her lungs being filled with water.

The last thing Joanne saw before everything went black was Maureen gripping the ship, laughing coldly at her as she held her other hand out to her.

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><p>Joanne woke up with a shock, completely covered in sweat.<p>

Glancing over at the clock, she realized it was only 2 am in the night, but she couldn't sleep anymore. Not with Maureen's cold face stuck inside her head.

Instead she decided to make a nice cup of coffee, maybe read a bit in the newspaper, before finally letting sleep takeover her once again.

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><p>The next morning when Joanne arrived at the dance studio, she was completely exhausted. Since that dream, or nightmare you might call it, she hadn't been able to close her eyes, and when she finally fell asleep the clock read about 5 am.<p>

She didn't really feel like facing Maureen right now, but it could be necessary since she still _was_ the leading role in the ballet. So instead, she decided that she would practice with the boys.

By now it was noon, meaning lunch break. Joanne was sitting at her usual table with some other instructors. They always seemed to talk about some play or another or discussing the moves and pronouncing of something. Joanne liked ballet and all; she thought that it was a beautiful arts form, but talking about it during lunch? Sometimes it could get a bit too much for her taste. She would rather get to know the others more.

Maureen was sitting at the other end of the cafeteria. Funny enough, she didn't seem to be sad or hurt or anything like that at all, after last night. In fact, she seemed rather happy, flirting with all the other girls. Not many of them responded though, but sometimes she was lucky enough to make a girl fall for her charm. Right now she was speaking to some of the other female dancers; Joanne noticed them from before in the rehearsal halls.

Maureen actually looked quite bright today. If it wasn't for last night, Joanne wouldn't even have noticed that anything had happened at all.

Joanne couldn't help but to glance over at Maureen every so often. She didn't really know why. She tried to convince herself that it was only to make sure that she was alright after what had happened, but she knew that wasn't quite right. Of course, she wanted to make sure her dancer was on her best, but she was just so beautiful. Captivating. Alive. So much more different from her girl in her supposedly nightmare.

As soon as she saw Maureen's eyes dart to her table, she turned away as quickly as possible, like a boy caught staring inside the bathroom, hoping to see the girl taking a shower.

She's on the brink of blushing shyly, though she really didn't know why. What is so special about this girl, Maureen?

How could it be that she gives her this longing desire to be with her, get to know the mystery behind that smile, to hold her closely in her own arms?

But she couldn't do that and she knew it. She couldn't afford getting more involved with her.


	4. Practice Makes Perfect

The next few days, it seemed as if Maureen was quick to find herself some sort of new toy. There was this boy whom usually took care of all of the electricity. Joanne remembered his name as being Mark. Mark Cohen, if she wasn't mistaken – stiff guy, not too high or muscular, blonde - red like hair, big round glasses, more of a nerd type of guy it seemed. Joanne knew that he had fallen badly for the playgirl a long time ago, and now it actually seemed like she was going along with it. Though, why, Joanne couldn't quite make out. Maybe it was to make Lila jealous? To make her realize she had made some sort of mistake and come back to her? Maybe Maureen just felt lonely and a bit desperate for attention?

Joanne had more than once seen Lila and her new boyfriend spend time together, kissing and snuggling close to each other. Sometimes so much, that Joanne maybe thought they should get a room, otherwise she felt close to vomiting.

By now she had learned that the boy's name was Benjamin or simply 'Benny' as his friends called him. He was playing Von Rothbart in her play, the evil sorcerer who turns Odette into a swan. Joanne couldn't help but to think it was a bit ironic that he was playing the bad guy, but she surely didn't mind, he was after all a good dancer.

But Joanne still felt completely confused. Wasn't Maureen a lesbian? Even though she wasn't with Lila anymore, Joanne had seen how she flirted with every single girl around her. Not ever a boy. So why was she now making out in public with this guy, Mark? Joanne couldn't even see what she saw in him. He didn't seem like her type _at all_. She was almost offended.

"Alright chica, what's on your mind?"

It was one of the dance teachers, a raven-haired Latino girl named Mimi. She had probably seen by now how Joanne stared over at Maureen's table every lunch break…

"What do you mean?" Joanne asked, trying to feign confusion, though not succeeding very well.

"Of, come on. I've seen how you've been starring at that girl for hours." Mimi gestured towards Maureen with her head.

Joanne frowned, looking up at the clock.

"We've only been here for about 10 minutes Mimi."

Mimi smiled, pressing on.

"Oh, come on. Surely you can tell me."

Joanne looked down at her food. Maybe she should try and ask Mimi about her. After all, she still didn't know her that well yet.

"Okay, if you insist…" Joanne let out a deep breath she didn't know she had been holding. "She's my new principal ballerina in Swan Lake, but I really feel like I'm in deep, she seems impossible for me to figure out. What can you tell me about her?"

"Maureen Johnson. Been here for a few years by now. She's a natural talent, but she needs more work in my opinion. She doesn't quite have the technique yet."

"What about her personality?" Joanne pushed.

"Ah…" Mimi said, smiling at the mocha girl. "Well, that's a _whole_ other case. In reality she's a real playgirl. Flirting with everyone. I think she even got into some of the teachers pants. She tried me more than once, but I'm not really into that. She's clearly lesbian. I don't really think I've seen her hitting on any boys at all, now that I think about it. But I know her type. She's only trying to get higher up, and it's not quite working for her. She always seems to be in such a good mood, it's rare that you don't find her either flirting or dancing through life with a smile on her face."

"That bad, huh?" Joanne asked, but Mimi simply nodded.

"I don't know though. It sometimes seems to me that there may be something more behind that smile, but I don't really think that she's going to show it to anyone other than herself. She keeps her dreams and her private life very close to herself. I really don't know, chica… I wouldn't concern myself too much if I were you. She is completely devoted to dancing. I think that's the only real thing I truly know for sure about her…"

Joanne looked over at Maureen with her new found boyfriend one last time before turning back to her meal.

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><p>That day, like some of the other days, Joanne stayed behind, catching up on her work. There were still a lot to go through. It wasn't exactly easy making a whole production as a sole choreographer…<p>

But just like the evening before, when Joanne was closing down and locking everything up, she heard a strange sound come from one of the rooms, but this time it wasn't like an argument. It sounded more like…like music. So curious as always, Joanne decided to follow the sound like she had before.

Slowly she slid closer to the door where the light was beaming from, and where the soft music filled her ears. Joanne didn't really want to interrupt anything after what happened last time, but seeing the crack in the door, she quietly moved to see who it was. Surprisingly enough, it turned out to be a certain brunette. Maureen.

She was dancing the best she could, letting the music float through her. She was going with speed, giving it everything she got. She was clearly determined on perfecting her technique. Mesmerized by the beautiful dancing, Joanne opened the door more up, so she could step inside. Maureen clearly didn't see her, spinning like crazy, again and again and again, but Joanne quickly got a look at her foot planted on the firm wooden floor. She wasn't twisting her foot the correct way. Sooner or later she was going to-

"_Argh!_" Maureen yelped in pain, falling onto the floor, just as Joanne had expected. She just didn't hope that she broke her ankle.

Joanne quickly rushed forward, kneeling next to a very surprised Maureen.

"What are you doing he-"

"You have to be more careful making those moves!" Joanne said, cutting Maureen's words off. "If you don't turn your foot the right way, you're going to break your ankle!"

"Sorry!" Maureen said in defense, sounding a bit offended by the interruption.

"Please don't apologize. Where does it hurt?" Joanne's voice had softened a bit more, as she tried to touch Maureen's foot, but her hands back when she heard the diva hiss in pain as she touched a sore point.

"There," she said. "It hurts _right_ there. Please stop touching it miss..."

"Alright…I'm sorry… How far away to you live from here?"

"I live in a small apartment just outside town. Why?"

Maureen was utterly confused now, but Joanne wasn't quite in the mood for answering. Instead she easily slipped Maureen's arm around her shoulders for support and started walking her out of the room, closing everything behind her.

"Where are we going?" Maureen asked, trying to push herself away from Joanne, but quickly failed due to her injured foot.

"I live only a few blocks away. I'm taking you home with me."

"Why?"

It didn't take long for Joanne to realize that Maureen was pretty upset by this, so she chose to set her down on a nearby chair.

Kneeling in front of the diva, Joanne said in soft words:

"Maureen, just listen to me. You're injured and I live very close by. Now, I'm not letting my prima ballerina drive home alone in the evening with that ankle. So you're coming home with me. I have an extra room in my apartment where you can sleep tonight. I can order some take away, and I can take care of the injury. It'll only be for one night, and then you'll be able to go home again."

Maureen's anger was suddenly replaced by a sneaky smile as she listened to Joanne's words.

"If you say so, doctor." Maureen moved forward, letting her fingers crawl spider like up Joanne's arm. But she didn't get very far until Joanne got up from the floor, looking a bit shyly at the brunette.

"But don't try to do anything okay? I know that you may have gotten your way with some of the other teachers, but I'm not going to stand for it. Okay?"

Maureen's smile grew a bit, as she leaned closer to Joanne and bit her lower lip, saying: "Deal."

Joanne couldn't help but to blush as Maureen softly giggled.


	5. Wine

The clock was about 6 pm when they arrived at Joanne's apartment. It was almost completely dark outside by now. The snow was lying thickly on the ground, but it luckily didn't take long for Joanne to get Maureen up the stairs and into the elevator. Though the old woman companying them on the way up kept staring at them in an odd manner, the ride into the medium sized habitation went rather harmless. It didn't take long for Joanne to settle Maureen comfortably on the small couch in her living room, before she could go looking for something to bind around her foot.

Maureen couldn't help but look around, half in boredom since she couldn't really get up, and half with excitement to be in her teacher's apartment. There was a small coffee table in front of her, dressed with two big beige candles and a small television as well. The walls where painted a light moss mixed with beige. It was kind of hard to describe, but it really suited the room. Paintings hang around, a Monet, one Da Vinci, Picasso as well and a couple of an artist Maureen didn't know. One of them was this basket of fruit and another with this weird dude on a harbor, screaming with hands clasped to his cheeks. When Maureen turned around, there was this dresser set with family pictures and small sculptures around. She couldn't really help but to smile at a picture with Joanne as a small child, holding both of her parents' hands. It looked so cute! In another corner, a bookcase stood, filled with books. Some cooking books, dancing books, some about the history of some people Maureen didn't really know. There were also all sorts of romantic books, and fantasy and crime and all sorts of stuff. Maureen guessed that Joanne must read a lot in her spare time.

But that was when Joanne got out of one of the other rooms, carrying a small medical box.

"I'm sorry for the mess, I wasn't expecting any guests," she said, smiling mildly at Maureen.

"Well, if it helps, it looks way better than my apartment _ever_ will, I guess."

Maureen smiled up at the mocha woman, earning a light chuckle and small blush in return. Maureen couldn't help but to smile even wider than before. Joanne's giggle was really one of the sweetest things she'd ever heard. She felt her heart melt a little when she heard it, but was quick to drop it again, remembering that she couldn't allow herself to warm up to this girl in any way. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to succeed with her plan.

"Alright, if you lift your food onto the coffee table for me, a can get a better look at the problem."

Maureen did as told as she was told, and slowly lifted her food onto the table, wincing in pain as she twisted awkwardly.

"Okay…" Joanne breathed out in a whisper, as she settled herself on the floor, taking Maureen's foot carefully in her hands. She lifted it and turned it and tried to feel it over all, trying to determine where the real injury was. She couldn't help but to think of how smooth and pale Maureen's skin was, so soft and almost breakable.

Maureen wasn't really sure whether or not she enjoyed this. It was really painful when Joanne hit a nerve or a sore spot, but on the other hand Joanne was so gentle and her skin was so warm and soft, contrasting beautifully against her own color. It almost made her smile a bit.

When she was finished she pulled a bandage from the kit and carefully wrapped it around the ankle. Before long, the whole kit was long gone and put away again.

"So, what can I offer you tonight, Maureen? Chinese? There should be a great pizzeria right around the corner?"

Maureen put a finger to the side of her chin, squeezing her eyes closely, thinking hard.

"Chinese," she finally said, smiling a bit seductively.

"Chinese it is then."

Joanne smiled broadly, before getting up from the chair and going into the kitchen, looking for the folder she knew she had somewhere on the kitchen table. She usually got home late in the evening, so she didn't really feel like cooking anything. She almost always ended up ordering some food from outside, or she bought some already made dish to throw in the microwave. It wasn't really anything big, but it could be much worse, Joanne thought. At least she _got_ some food to eat.

It didn't take very long before the food arrived. Joanne hadn't really taken the time beforehand to clean the dining table, so Maureen was quick to settle the food on the sofa table. Before Joanne could really say or do anything at all, Maureen had gotten dishes and glasses and she even lit the candles to create a bit of a romantic frame of mind.

Maureen's plan was really just to get Joanne into bed. No feelings at all. Just to take advantage of her. Maureen knew that she wasn't very good at ballet; she didn't really get the technique correctly. Therefore she thought that she had to do something else she was good at to get to keep the role, and all teachers knew that she was a number one playgirl, so sex seemed like a good option. Maybe that was even the reason Joanne had picked her out, because she knew that Maureen liked girls and she really needed to get laid? Deep down inside Maureen, in a place long forgotten, it kind of made her feel completely sad to know that she wasn't to any other use than _sex_ and _flirting_. So she couldn't afford to get that small voice inside of her to take control. She couldn't afford to get _feelings_ involved.

But after some time, Maureen couldn't help but to let the bobbling feeling inside of her get to her mind. And the wine and the slow, quiet song on the radio didn't really help her a lot. Joanne was just _soooo_ beautiful and her voice was so soft and sweet and her scent was so intoxicating and her face was just so flawless and perfect and the ringlets so pretty, and…and…and her hands were so petite and feminine.

"So, do you want me in the guestroom or in the bedroom tonight?" Maureen asked with a smirk on her face, her fingers tiptoeing closer to Joanne's hand on the table.

It didn't take long for Maureen to catch herself with the obvious flirting. She didn't really know what was going on inside of her, but her heart was suddenly beating faster than before, and her breath was thickening. Maureen's first instinct was to back away, shocked over her own body, but now when she had already begun, she should really just get this over with. So she quickly took her glass and filled it up, before drowning it in one and moving a bit closer to the choreographer. If this was her feelings in the moment, she needed to get drunk if she was going to do this.

"Maureen…" Joanne said, moving her hand on the table down to her thigh instead, out of reach for Maureen. A lump quickly formed inside of her throat. She was sure that she must've been red like a tomato in her face right now. Her heart was beating faster. A small part of her wanted to let Maureen move closer but she couldn't. Especially not after seeing Maureen downing her glass like that. She knew the other girl really didn't want to move closer to her at all. She must feel like throwing up on the inside, needing alcohol _that_ badly.

"Or we could just stay here? I think I can think up a couple of things to do if you want to be a bit kinky." Maureen couldn't help but to broaden her smile when she saw Joanne take the word 'blush' to a whole new level.

"Maureen… you know that I'm very flattered. I…I mean you're very…" A part of Joanne wanted to say fucking sexy right now, but maybe that wouldn't be the best idea if she wanted to turn her down. "Very attractive… Yes… But you-"

Before Joanne really had a chance to say anything at all, Maureen crashed her lips onto Joanne's, never letting her finish.

Joanne stood completely speechless, not really knowing what to do now. Maureen tasted so lovely and smelled so nice, Joanne felt herself breathe in sharply. For a brief second, she found herself kissing the brunette goddess back, but after what felt like forever, Joanne had to pull back, feeling Maureen wanting to touch her and deepen the kiss, moving as close as possible.

Maureen looked confused down at Joanne, practically lying on the couch, when she felt her rip her lips away from the impact.

"I…" Joanne really didn't know what to say or do now. "I'm so sorry…I shouldn't…I shouldn't have let you kiss me in the first place…You must know that I really can't do this regardless of my feelings towards you…"

Maureen quietly closed her eyes, moving forward to slowly peck on Joanne's lips just one last time. This time she quickly pulled away again, moving backwards with a very flushed faced, giving Joanne her space.

"I'm so sorry Maureen…"

Joanne quickly got up and started to pick the dishes up from the table.

"It's getting late by now. I'm going to go fix the guestroom for you so you can get some rest. If you have any trouble sleeping tonight, I have some painkillers in the bathroom you can take…"

And with that, Joanne was gone, leaving Maureen sitting alone on the couch.


	6. Morning

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update! I'm kinda stuck a bit and life has a way of getting in the way. lol. Please tell me what you think, and if you have any random (or not) good or bad ideas, please do write. I don't really know where to go from... :S**

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><p>The rest of the evening went rather silently. Joanne set up the bed for Maureen to lie in; she had bought a new toothbrush some time ago which she gave to Maureen with some new clothes for the next day for her to use. Joanne really didn't feel like talking that much, more or less leaving Maureen to herself, and Maureen didn't really know what to say anymore to Joanne, so she chose to just stop talking for once.<p>

When Joanne finally was lying down in her own bed, without Maureen next to her, she couldn't really stop thinking about the brunette. She felt this weird giddy feeling twirling around in her stomach, making her heart beat just a little faster. It really scared her a bit. She knew that this was usually her symptoms when she had feelings towards a person, but she had never felt it this powerfully. This was the scary part for her.

Maureen was beautiful, captivating, sexy, attractive and funny. The whole package actually. But, when she talked to Maureen…it was like she refused to tell anything about herself or her past. Like she had some sort of secret. Joanne really enjoyed talking to her a lot. She wanted to know everything possible about this woman, but it was like she was afraid to let her in. Sometimes it almost felt like the whole thing was just one big façade, and the kiss…the way Maureen had had to drown herself in alcohol before making a move… Joanne knew that Maureen wanted to please her and wanted to take advantage of her in some way, but Joanne knew not to get feelings involved with any students.

Maybe it was just better for her to get some sleep before tomorrow. This whole night had just been too confusing. Carefully, she put her hand up to her lips, still feeling the sweetness from Maureen. It made her blush a bit. She couldn't help the giddy feeling she felt, constantly thinking about it. But every time she thought about it, her mind automatically went back to her earlier nightmare with Maureen in it, the poison constantly spreading wider and wider. It really gave her goose bumps to think about it. So instead, she chose to just close her eyes and go to sleep.

* * *

><p>In the guestroom next door, lay a sleepless Maureen, her eyes flickering on the blank ceiling above her. She couldn't stop thinking about the kiss, the feel of Joanne, her taste, her scent. Everything stood so clear in her head, it was almost painful. She was trying so hard to forget everything, to lock herself up again, but she couldn't. Joanne had been nothing but kind and gentle to her. Maureen knew not to fall for the trick, but there was something so gentle and special about this woman. She couldn't put words on it.<p>

A part of her wanted _so_ desperately to believe in Joanne's kindness and her honesty. It was so awful! She _couldn't_ allow herself to do that. She couldn't risk losing herself again. Not like this.

But Joanne was just so…

_**ARGH!**_

Maureen violently dug her nails into her, pressing her eyes closed as hard as she could, trying to keep her mind under control. Her inside was screaming, small tears slipping through her eyelids. She really had to get some sleep; she was completely _wasted_ by now, but she couldn't sleep. So instead, she chose just to lie down, staring holes in the ceiling.

* * *

><p>After a couple of hours, Maureen awoke again, needing to go to the bathroom. It turned out that not long after staring holes in the ceiling, she had fallen asleep as her body was simply too tired to function correctly anymore.<p>

And sitting up in the bed, Maureen's mind kept wandering back to Joanne.

Slowly, she planted her face in her hands, not really having the energy to get up. Glancing over at the clock on the nightstand, she discovered it was only 3:40 in the morning. So as quietly as she could, she snuck out of her bed. Her legs didn't really want to work at first, but she quickly gained her balance back again.

Opening her door completely, she went for the light switch for the hall, needing light to really see where she was, but she quickly regretted turning on the lamp, the light burning in her greenish brown eyes.

It didn't really take very long for her to find the bathroom. Sitting down on the toilet, Maureen couldn't keep her mind off Joanne. How much she longed to see her. Just see her, nothing more than that.

Sneaking down the hall again, she stopped before Joanne's bedroom. Seeing the clock, she knew that Joanne would probably be asleep by now, and she wanted so much to see her, just for _one_ single second. She didn't really want kisses and sex, nor conversations and things like that.

Slowly, careful not to make one single sound, Maureen took hold of the doorknob, quietly pulling it down and gliding the door open enough for her to slide in.

Sure enough, Joanne was sleeping very soundlessly on the small double bed. Maureen couldn't help but smile at the sight. Joanne looked so cute when she was sleeping! All Maureen wanted was to crawl in on the other side of the bed and hold her tightly in her arms, but she didn't want to wake her sleeping beauty up. Not really after tonight.

Instead, she tip-toed closer to the bed and sat down on the floor in front of Joanne. Her face was turned toward Maureen, a very content look on her face. Her chest was slowly moving up and down, up and down. She shifted a bit in her bed, a little uneasy.

"Mmh…" she said in her sleep. "Maureen… Ma, Mo, Maureen…"

Maureen got a small shock hearing her name come from the woman in front of her.

"Maureen! … Help… Help me, Mauree-…" her quiet whisper slowly died out in a non understandable mumble.

Maureen almost panicked now, not really knowing what to do. She carefully lifted her hand to Joanne's hair, slowly stroking the soft ringlet curls.

"Shh…" she said, trying to comfort her, but Joanne wouldn't stop mumbling, her eyebrows turning into a frown. Maureen had to calm her down somehow. Make her shut up. So she did the first thing that came to mind. She kissed her.

And sure enough, a second after Maureen had backed away again, Joanne's face started to relax, and a small smile crept onto her lips in her sleep.

Happy with her result, Maureen stood up, and walked back to her own room, a smile on her own face.

* * *

><p>The next time Maureen woke up, it was about 8 o'clock. Even though she could barely move because she was so tired, it didn't take very long for her to get dressed and out to the kitchen. There was still one hour before they had to be at work. Joanne's clothes actually fit her almost perfect. The blouse was a bit loose and long, but the pants were just right, fitting Maureen's ass nicely.<p>

When she got into the kitchen, Joanne was already there, standing in her robe, a cup of coffee in hand.

"Good morning," Joanne greeted her.

"I really hope you don't mind," she said, gesturing to her morning outfit. "I just got up. Didn't really think you'd be up yet."

Maureen let out a soft breath with a smile smirk crossing her lips, as her eyes roamed over Joanne's body.

"I don't mind at all," she said, her eyes not leaving Joanne's deep cut in her robe, exposing just enough cleavage to make Maureen's inner do flips.

Joanne felt her face growing red when she saw where Maureen was looking. She quickly tried to pull the robe closer around her frame, closing the gap which held Maureen's glare. Turning around, she poured two cups of coffee, handing one over to Maureen.

"Thanks," said the ballerina, before blowing the hot smoke away, carefully taking a small sip.

"You're welcome. I don't know what you like to eat for breakfast. I have some eggs and toast and such. I wasn't really expecting anyone to sleep here last night." Joanne turned a bit crimson in her face, feeling very nervous over Maureen's presence, but quickly shook it off.

Maureen slowly swayed forward, leaning her mouth close to Joanne's ear, whispering, "I'll take whatever you got," before smirking widely as she walked back to her coffee mug. Joanne blushed visibly, but quickly brushed it off again.

Mumbling something to herself, Joanne turned around, looking into the fridge. After finally finding some eggs well hidden in the back, she turned around to face a still smirking Maureen Johnson.

"You know what. If you don't stop that thing you got going, I might not let you drive back with me," Joanne joked, laughing lightly.

Maureen was about to make a quirky comment, but Joanne was quicker, placing a finger on Maureen's lips, stopping the brunette.


End file.
